Less-invasive procedure OK for breast cancer, study says

Sept. 21, 2010 12:00 AMAssociated Press

LONDON - Some breast-cancer patients may do just as well with a less-invasive surgery to remove selected lymph nodes rather than the aggressive operation normally used to remove them all, a new study says.

In the biggest trial yet to compare the two procedures, North American researchers found early breast-cancer patients don't need the more interventionist surgery to live longer.

Most patients with such cancer have surgery to remove the disease. Doctors sometimes decide to get rid of all the lymph nodes to better control the cancer because if the disease spreads, it usually goes first to the nearby lymph nodes. Experts also think there is a relationship between the number of lymph nodes affected and how aggressive a cancer is.

But the invasive operation, an axillary-lymph node dissection, often comes with nasty side effects such as nerve damage and reduced use of the arms and shoulders.

Doctors can use another surgery to remove only the first set of lymph nodes, or the sentinel lymph nodes under the arm, but many physicians have assumed the more aggressive surgery gives women a better shot at staying alive.

The study dealt only with victims of early breast cancer, not women needing a mastectomy.

The study was paid for by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Health and Human Services. It was published today in Lancet Oncology.